WrittenOnYourHeart

Ah, gotcha. It looks like a much thinner chocolate coating than I'm used to seeing. Perhaps because of the added red sugar.

Uh, what happened to the strawberries?? If those are supposed to be chocolate covered, that is a fail. I hope they tasted better than they look.

I'm in Aqua Class for my upcoming cruise - allergic to peanuts and wheat - and when I've spoken with someone in the Executive Office at Celebrity, they advised me to speak with the maitre'd in Blu and if possible to go at the same time each night and they will try to seat me in the same general area with the same servers so that they are aware of my allergies. I do think that hopping between dining rooms - and even dining times - will result in having to have the allergy conversation every single time. Even on Royal with My Time Dining (Aqua is as fancy as I've ever gotten - I'm usually in an ocean view or MAYBE balcony) I was able to get seated with the same servers (not 100% always the exact table but same servers) and ordered my food the night before. There was a good bit of leeway from the menu - like one night I wanted a grilled chicken Caesar salad (obvs without croutons - and chicken is safe for me). The menu didn't have THAT, but there was a caesar salad and a chicken breast so I asked if I could get them served together and my server said "Would you like a grilled chicken Caesar salad?" If you're willing to order the night before, there's a lot more flexibility. (I've also cruised in a group with vegans (I think one of the couple had an allergy to something) and more nights than not, they just said "Let the chef surprise us" and since he knew what their issues were (server always noted that) he came up with dishes that met their requirements. And quite frankly looked better than what we were getting.)

Honestly in any communal setting like a dining room on a ship I'd do this. They are not going to tell people at adjacent tables that they cannot order lobster/shrimp/chicken/peanuts/etc. because of your allergy. Even the tables with the most separation still have tables near them and likely will have trays of foods pass them as others are being served.

I'm debating between 2 Celebrity itineraries in 2024 and would love some input. The first is the one listed above: Bruges, Belgium, Sea, Flam, Geiranger, Bergen, Sea. The second is: Sea, Stavanger, Geiranger, Flam, Haugesund, Sea. Thoughts?

What was it? Mixology implies cocktails.

Yeah. I was shocked. It makes Disney's cabana prices on Castaway Cay look almost reasonable. I had thought I'd get a beach bed, but at those prices I'll just get my butt up early and get a no-charge chair and umbrella somewhere.

About the price? Nope. I'm on the Anthem over Presidents' Week and the cabanas are as follows: Coco Beach Club Overwater Cabanas - $3899/cabana Thrill Park Cabana w/admission for 6 - $1399/cabana (only 3 left) Coco Beach Club Beach Cabana - $2499/cabana Chill Island Cabana - $1399/cabana (only 6 left) South Beach Cabana - $1399/cabana (only 6 left) Oasis Lagoon Cabana - $1399/cabana (only 6 left) Beach beds range from $219/bed to $329/bed depending on location.

This. No one is MAKING you participate in these things. If the webinar is not to your liking, either turn it off and forego the points or mute it and go about your business until it is over. They've never said "If you skip an opportunity to get points this month you are ineligible for any others." I haven't done one PUP opportunity with a cruise or cruise purchase and I still get all the emails.

I did. It was on Celebrity. I got a small OBC and they comped some aloe for me. The Guest Services person I spoke with agreed that especially since we met on board the ship, they should have done a sunscreen check on board so that those of us following the rules got to keep ours.

You were SOL. Hence why a lot of us ended up sunburned.

Thank you! I didn't realize they would show sold out on the booking page. I'll keep checking to see when more things get loaded.

Love these!!! I'm sure the Azores was very happy to see a ship able to dock!! Most of the earlier crossings had to skip them due to weather!

Yeah...the beach beds so far for ours are like 1 available in one place and 3 in another. And apparently the Beach Club is sold out other than the cabanas that are more than I make in a month because there are no day passes available. I'm hoping that once they know the new adult area is good to go they will open things up there. I'm used to Disney where regarding excursions you KNOW what is sold out because it says it - it doesn't just disappear so you just don't know if something hasn't been loaded.

Then you were sent back to the ship with no refund.

On the excursions, that is what they did. The sunscreen was held in a basket and at the end of the excursion we got it back. I have never seen them checking it on the ship as a whole, but on excursions it can definitely happen.

Yes...but they were collecting all that people had brought to reapply. So even those of us who followed the rules and had biodegradable sunscreen were unable to reapply because of people who don't follow the rules of having biodegradable sunscreen (the guides were apologetic, but they said because so many people broke the rules, they were required to collect it all since people could put non-biodegradable sunscreen in empty bottles of biodegradable). So yes, we who had applied before leaving the ship were protected for the first portion of the trip, but once the water activity was over we had nothing to reapply and many of us ended up sunburned. So it's just something to be aware of if you're taking an excursion that says biodegradable sunscreen required. You can put it on before, but don't count on being able to keep it to reapply. It's certainly made me rethink some excursions because of that. (And as for being defensive, it's because your comment read like we should have known to put sunscreen on beforehand and there wouldn't have been a problem. The problem came AFTER the first activity because it was locked in a van until the end of the excursion and we couldn't reapply it.)

I am aware of that. BUT I also carry it with me as you are supposed to reapply after a certain period - especially when sweaty or after being in the water. It's not a put on once and you're good for the day thing.

No it was not.

I had it both at Cozumel and Grand Cayman. The excursion instructions stated biodegradable sunscreen required. Mine was - but I still had to put it in the basket.A lot of what was going in there from others was NOT biodegradable - so I get why they collected it. Of course it didn't help the ocean if people had already put it on and what they had was just extra.

I have been on some excursions in the Caribbean where the excursion guides collected our sunscreen in baskets before the excursion and returned them at the end.

Thank you. The shilling for Hurtigruten has gotten ridiculous. We get it. @the penguins loves (and/or possibly works for?) that line. This is the Celebrity page and a thread about Celebrity's Norwegian Fjords cruises.

I've not done it (it's really punitive for a solo cruiser), but as I understand it, you get no say in what cabin you are given. And unlike booking a guarantee, you cannot call and whine that you don't like it. IOW, as I'd tell the kids in my class when we randomly draw for activities and things "You get what you get, and you don't get upset."

Advantage of being solo adult - I don't have to go near the family beaches. At any rate, I have the Anthem cruise on hold with deposit to be paid Monday. 🙂

Mattresses are like food - subjective. What is one person's "hard and awful" is another's "perfection".